Azerbaijan attempted to seize Karabakh by force last year: FillonApril 19, 2017 - 13:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Taking advantage of the international community's indifference, Azerbaijan in April 2016 attempted to seize Nagorno Karabakh by force, Republican candidate in the upcoming French general election Francois Fillon said in an interview with Nouvelles d’Arménie. Azerbaijan on April 2, 2016 launched a large-scale military offensive against Karabakh, which claimed hundreds of lives on both sides. Top Armenian and Azerbaijani defense officials reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities on April 5 in Moscow. “I share the concern of French Armenians, as the conflict in Karabakh is a powder keg in the South Caucasus region,” Fillon said. The candidate said the current situation is the handiwork of Stalin, who in 1921 “arbitrarily separated Karabakh from Armenia in favor of Azerbaijan.” “Now there is no choice other than finding a peaceful and lasting solution through the United Nations,” he said. Also, the presidential hopeful weighed in on the Armenian Genocide, pledging to designate April 24 as a remembrance day for the crime against humanity, if elected. France is a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group alongside Russia and the United States. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. Ex-President: Only removal of “defeatist” rulers can save Armenia Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. |